9000 foreign investors became Turks

Why there are more than 9000 foreign investors became Turks? because of Investing in Turkey has become a valuable thing for many foreign investors, as it is considered a golden option for its advantages, and probably the most important one is "obtaining Turkish citizenship through investment".

In Fanar Realty, we have monitored official Turkish statistics that indicate the number of foreign investors who obtained Turkish citizenship reached more than 9 thousand investors a few years after the amendments to the citizenship law that included amendments on granting Turkish citizenship through investment, which led to additional advantages encouraged foreign investors, where the most important of which is related to real estate investment in Turkey

The Number of Foreign Investors Who Obtained Turkish Citizenship

According to an official announcement issued by the General Directorate of populations in Turkey, it has been reported that 9,011 foreign investors have obtained Turkish citizenship since the announcement of the amendments to the Naturalization Law for Foreign Investors in September 2018.

 in the first seven months of 2020, the number of foreign investors who obtained Turkish citizenship reached about 2000 foreign investors.

Fanar Realty has monitored three announcements issued by the Soul Department in Turkey regarding the number of people who obtained Turkish citizenship through real estate investment, and we have organized this in the following table:

 

Duration	Number of holders of Turkish citizenship by investment
From September 2018 to January 2019	2,700 investors
In 2019	4,311 investors
From January 2020 to July 2020	2000 investors

 

In general, it was announced that the naturalization of foreign investors in Turkey was accepted in July 2016, after a series of legal reforms on investment, especially for real estate ownership in Turkey by foreign buyers and investors, which led to a large wave of foreign investments flowing into Turkey.

There are also other reasons for increasing foreign investments in Turkey, which we will discuss in later paragraphs of this article in detail.

Read: Istanbul real estate

The volume of foreign investments for Turkish citizenship holders 

The value of investments of foreign who obtained Turkish citizenship inside Turkey has reached 3 billion and 261 million and 500 thousand US dollars.

 Turkish laws grant citizenship to foreign investors in return for a fixed amount of investment in certain sectors and within the terms and control specific to each investment. The most important of which are:

• Real estate investment in the amount of 250 thousand US dollars with a commitment not to sell for 3 years
• The bank deposit in a Turkish bank is valued at 500 thousand US dollars at least.
• Investing in Turkey with an amount of at least 500 thousand US dollars.
• Purchase of government bonds of at least $500,000.
• Providing job opportunities for at least 50 Turkish citizens.

Currencies and real estate are evaluated based on the exchange rate against the US dollar at the Central Bank of Turkey on the day of purchasing the financial asset or property.

For more information, you can read the article: citizenship by real estate investment

New Incentives for Foreigners Investing in Turkish

 

This large number of foreign investors in Turkey who were granted Turkish citizenship did not come out of anywhere, but as a result of a package of incentives in Turkey, the most important of which are:

• Simple and encouraging procedures of naturalizing foreigners and granting them their full rights.
• Continuous growth in the Turkish economic sector
• Turkey mediates the world's continents and its strategic geographical location
• Turkey's political and social stability
• The laws that encourage the preservation of the freedoms and rights of Turkish citizens
• Turkish Passport Power and advantages
• Increasing the proportion of the Arab community in turkey, which opens a large consumer market for Arab investors, who represent the largest percentage of foreign investors in Turkey

 

• Foreign Investment Challenges in Turkey

There is no doubt that investment in Turkey, like any economic sector in any country, is affected by many variables, but the strength of any investment is represented by the state’s ability to spare it the negative effects of the variables, and this is what is known as the challenges of the foreign investment sector in Turkey, and we will address the most important challenges:

Corona Crisis and Its Negative Effects

The Corona crisis in Turkey has caused a negative impact on foreigners’ investment in Turkey due to the temporary suspension of flights, import, export, and other commercial and tourism sectors which decreased in demand during the second third of 2020.

The challenge comes in the possibility of revitalizing foreign investments, especially in the real estate sector, which is considered the most active of these economic sectors and is the most attractive option for foreign investors for many considerations:

• Real estate investment is considered a safe wallet for funds away from the fluctuations of the exchange rate in Turkey.
• The minimum investment value to obtain Turkish citizenship is much lower than the minimum limits for other investments, as you have noted in what we mentioned in the previous paragraph.
• Real estate offers for obtaining Turkish citizenship did not stop during the period of the spread of the virus, but rather procedural facilities increased, and most transactions turned into “online transactions” that can be completed from home.

Read also: The impact of the Coronavirus on the real estate market in Turkey

But in general, Turkey has proven flexibility in the face of the crisis of the spread of the Coronavirus and contributed to limiting its Negative effects and reached the phase of implementing development plans for the post-Corona era.

 

• The Exchange Rate of The Turkish Lira Against Other Currencies

 The Turkish lira is facing a crisis in the exchange rate against the US dollar and other currencies, as the Turkish lira lost approximately 23% of its value during the first eight months of the year during the year 2020, as the exchange rate of the Turkish lira against the dollar changed from 5.97 at the beginning of 2020 to 7.34 at the end of the eighth month of the same year.

the question may be: If the investment is in US dollars, what is the effect of exchange rate fluctuations? It is no secret to the observer that this effect is considered limited, but we are discussing it to inform you of the smallest details regarding the challenges that foreign investment faces.

 

Read: foreign investors who obtained Turkish citizenship by investment

 

The effect has many types:

• Residents Of Turkey Who Deal in The Turkish Lira

This increases the required amount to be converted into dollars. For example, the investment of 500 thousand US dollars was equivalent at the beginning of this year to about 2,985,000 Turkish liras, while at the end of August of the same year it amounted to 3,670,000 Turkish liras. This increase costs the investor the foreigner staying in Turkey who deals in the Turkish lira, as for those who deal in other currencies from outside Turkey, the effect will be on them according to the changes in the exchange rate of their local currencies against the US dollar.

• Bank Deposit Investors in Turkey:

The monetary policy in Turkey is based on the principle of resistance to raising the interest rate as much as possible, and this procedure may be harmless for ordinary depositors who can withdraw their balances as soon as they feel the danger of any collapse of the Turkish currency, but for those who deposit 500 thousand US dollars, there is a 3 continues depositing years requirement.

which means that it is difficult to withdraw the balance until after the expiration of the mentioned period, but in general, this is not considered an actual threat to the foreign investor because the Turkish economy does not face real risks and is characterized by seasonal growth and the many innovative sectors that achieve a continuous recovery of the Turkish economy.

• Real Estate Sector Investors in Turkey:

There is no negative impact of the exchange rate of the Turkish lira with real estate prices in Turkey, as the real estate appraisal in Turkey is in the Turkish lira and not in any other currency, which means the safety of the real estate sector from the impact of exchange rate fluctuations in Turkey. The government has many economic plans to overcome price fluctuations of the exchange of the Turkish lira, since most of the reasons for these fluctuations are due to some political problems between Turkey and the United States of America, and not because of weakness or stagnation in the Turkish economy.

as it is known that political problems can always be overcome, and diplomatic channels will be found to solve them.

• The Need for Reforms and Amendments to Investment Laws

The organizational structure of the Turkish state believes in flexibility in laws and procedures and

 it has witnessed during close periods many amendments in investment laws. where Turkey’s economic plans always focus on attracting more foreign investors into Turkey.

The goals of attracting investors do not focus on quantity as much as they focus on Quality, as the economic plans target the world’s wealthy and well-known, and influential businessmen in their countries to open up a space for them to work and settle in Turkey and obtain the citizenship.

 Turkey is also working continuously to shorten routine procedures, regarding transactions of obtaining Turkish citizenship through investment. The spread of the Coronavirus in the country has a positive impact on the experience of remote work and the possibility of completing many legal transactions and procedures via the Internet without the need for the usual routine.

• What Does Fanar Realty Offer to Foreign Investors in Real Estate?

Fanar Realty provides foreign investors distinguished offers to obtain Turkish citizenship through real estate investment.

it is our pleasure to inform you about our most important services in this aspect:

• Real estate ownership services

 start from real estate tours to signing the ownership contract, and through all the steps between the two stages, we provide real estate consultancy.

 Legal services

• Extracting a real estate appraisal document in Turkey
• Title deed  extract
• Extracting all the documents necessary to own or obtain Turkish citizenship
• Follow up on the Turkish citizenship file with you step by step.
• Watch the experiences of investors with Fanar Realty

 One of the best people who can talk about Fanar Realty services and advantages are the ones who dealt with it and obtained Turkish citizenship through real estate investment so let us hear from our Foreign Investors Who Obtained Turkish Citizenship. kindly View customer experiences on our YouTube channel.